Emotional Pistorius facing premeditated murder charge

Olympian firmly disputes allegations

The Associated Press

Posted:
02/15/2013 11:05:06 PM MST

Updated:
02/15/2013 11:05:33 PM MST

Athlete Oscar Pistorius weeps in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb 15, 2013, at his bail hearing in the murder case of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Oscar Pistorius arrived at a courthouse Friday, for his bail hearing in the murder case of his girlfriend as South Africans braced themselves for the latest development in a story that has stunned the country. The Paralympic superstar was earlier seen leaving a police station in a dark suit with a charcoal gray jacket covering his head as he got into a police vehicle. Model Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed at Pistorius' upmarket home in an eastern suburb of the South African capital in the predawn hours of Thursday. (AP Photo/Antione de Ras - Independent Newspapers Ltd South Africa) SOUTH AFRICA OUT
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Antoine de Ras
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PRETORIA, South Africa -- In a courtroom, not an Olympic stadium, there was no click-click-click of Oscar Pistorius' prosthetic limbs. His only sound Friday was loud, uncontrollable sobs as prosecutors charged him with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his model girlfriend.

"Take it easy," Chief Magistrate Desmond Nasir told the Olympic star-turned-murder-defendant as his father, Henke, and his brother, Carl, reached out to touch his shoulder to comfort him.

The 26-year-old Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who won world acclaim by competing in last summer's London Olympics, did not speak or enter a plea. He held his head and wept as he heard the charge, which carries a life sentence.

A statement released later by his family and agent said Pistorius disputed the murder charge "in the strongest terms."

The track star's arrest in the Valentine's Day killing of 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp shocked South Africa, where Pistorius was a national hero dubbed the Blade Runner for his high-tech prosthetics and revered for overcoming his disability to compete in the London Games.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said he would pursue a charge of premeditated murder against Pistorius in the slaying of Steenkamp, a leggy blonde model with a law degree who had spoken out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women.

She was discovered in a pool of blood before dawn Thursday by police called to Pistorius' upscale home in a gated community in the South African capital of Pretoria.

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Authorities said she had been shot four times, and a 9 mm pistol was recovered at the home.

Throngs of reporters, photographers and videographers filled the brick-walled Courtroom C in Pretoria Magistrate's Court, where Pistorius appeared. Nasir's first ruling focused on the press as he dismissed requests from the state broadcaster and a private television station to air the hearing live.

Nasir also ordered that no photographs be taken while court was in session. That left dozens of photographers kneeling less than a yard from the sobbing Pistorius to simply stare at a man many had photographed previously sprinting on his famous carbon-fiber blades.

Police said investigators had conducted an autopsy on Steenkamp's body but the results would not be released.

Pistorius' family left quickly after the hearing, without speaking to journalists. In a statement later Friday, the family and his London-based management agency questioned the criminal charge the athlete faces.

"The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms," the statement said, without elaborating. It added that Pistorius wanted to "send his deepest sympathies to the family of Reeva."

"He would also like to express his thanks through us today for all the messages of support he has received -- but as stated our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family -- regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy," the statement read.

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